Concessions
by onyxed
Summary: AU Pure drama. Jack chose Mimi to save Schuyler. But Schuyler is not left alone, she finds a new love after him. However tragedy strikes again, only making things worse. If you don't like sad stories don't read. One-Shot OHP/SVA & JF/SVA


Winter in New York had never seemed so cold to him before. Snow fell with a mocking gentleness only nature could accomplish. It slicked the sidewalks into shiny lanes, like carpets of glass and white powder. It was too beautiful, and horrible at the same time. He knew she'd love it, that the weather would be part of the fairytale for her on this day of days.

Jack sipped the whiskey despondently from his crystal glass- his blue blood preventing the alcohol from warming his frozen heart, the way he wished it would burn it... the way it would have before his blood had matured- and stared banefully out the window. Today was the day, and he couldn't bring himself to look at the crisp white invitation that settled in the bottom most drawer in his desk. Still, but so much like a loaded gun.

It sat there for ages, the paper was worn thin over her name where he'd rubbed his thumb over it. Out of reverence, or from the misguided hope he could wipe the name away- make it so that it wouldn't happen. Change the past in his favor, and maybe hers as well. If he looked at it, it would make the horrid event more real. He remembered Mimi's harsh laugh at their choice to use eco-friendly cardstock and envelopes. A choice only a pair like that would make, with no regard for how society would view it. Mimi didn't worry about Schuyler anymore, not in relation to Jack at least, she'd been so sure that their bonding had erased his feelings for the half-blood vampire.

For a long time Jack had convinced himself too. That Mimi was all he wanted... needed.

And then the invitation came, and the lie was burned in his memory forever as Mimi read aloud...

"You are cordially invited to the bonding of Schuyler Van Allen, daughter of Allegra Van Allen, and Oliver Hazzard-Perry, son of...." He hadn't heard anything after that. Mimi's voice trolled on but in his mind it was muffled. Like someone throwing a blanket over a radio, or someone talking behind a thin wall.

He couldn't believe it, but the nausea rolled through him as he realized it was his fault.

All his fault. By being with Mimi, and then bonding with her while he still loved Schuyler and being instrumental in Oliver becoming her familiar, he'd practically thrown her at him. He'd handed her off, he'd let it happen.

He pictured the last time he'd seen her... with him. A committee meeting about two and a half months before they'd received the invitation.

Schuyler sat at a back table with Oliver in the white and gold ballroom of a prestigious hotel where a blue blood meeting was being held. There she was in all her beauty, wearing an oversized oxford shirt synched at the waist with an oversize black belt over a pair of black leggings and thigh high black boots. Her blue black hair was pulled into a messy mass of waves on the back of her head. And thats when Oliver had reached out a hand and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

It was like in the movies, where they sat close holding each others hands, gazing into each others eyes, talking so quiet even his vampire hearing couldn't help him then.

It should have been him.

He turned discreetly back to Mimi, who hadn't noticed his lack of attention since he'd bee observing Schuyler through their reflection in the wall that was entirely glass. It wasn't the first time they'd displayed their forbidden affection to the public, and it wasn't the last. She deserved happiness, after all she'd been through. And he told himself that if that meant Oliver for this cycle then that was alright. Because he'd assumed she wouldn't be suicidal enough to marry the red blood, or slowly tread the thin and dangerous road her own mother had walked.

But she was and she did. It wasn't just the thought of her and Oliver together, the way that Jack had been with her, that made his stomach roll or his skin crawl or his heart burn... it was the thought of her being stuck. In this one life, in a bed, still as night.... never to shine again. He feared for her life, he fared losing her for all the lifetimes to come. He feared the punishment she might face at the hands of the committee. What power Mimi, who had always hated and loathed Schuyler, might hold over her fate.

He felt like a fool now, how he'd been proud of his own kindness in letting her be with Oliver now- under the assumption that he, Jack, could fight for her for the rest of his life. Because if thats what it meant, he was willing to do it. Because he loved her, and he never fully realized how much until he'd had to face the possibility of truly losing her- forever.

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She'd never meant for it to happen like this. She hadn't meant to fall in love with Jack Force all those years ago, and she hadn't meant to be so selfish when they'd started sneaking around after discovering their relationship was forbidden. She'd broken off things with Jack to protect him, because loving him and leaving him was better than loving him and destroying him.

And leaving him that day had been the hardest thing she thought she'd ever have to do, and that after that she'd never love again.

She'd been wrong.

The hardest thing Schuyler would ever face was yet to come. And she did love again, most unexpectedly.

She hadn't expected to fall so in love with Oliver. His kindness meant more than obligation to her, his comfort meant more than friendship to her now. Their relationship had been easy at first. Affection was natural between them. Sacrifices seemed easier when they were able to lean on each other at the end of the day. She loved him- and all rights and wrongs aside he loved her too.

Not more or less than she had loved Jack, their love was.... different. And Oliver accepted that Jack would always be a small part of her, it was enough that she'd put Jack in a room at the back of her mind. It was enough that she was faithful to Oliver in every way. It helped though, that Jack seemed entirely devoted to Mimi. It was easier for them to let go that way.

Schuyler stood in the brides room, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't help but smile. Her dress floated around her in delicate white folds of gauzy fabric and lace, the short strapless bodice made her seem that much more delicate. Light spilled in from the window across from her, bathing her in a warm yellow light. She glanced out the window and saw the tiny white flakes sprinkling from the sky, a carriage waiting outside to take her and Oliver to the reception. It was perfect.

Bliss walked in wearing her deep green bridesmaids dress. She and Schuyler smiled stupidly at one another before Bliss spoke, "Oh my God Sky you look gorgeous..." And she pulled her into an embrace. Bliss was happy for her friend but she also couldn't help but worry. Her smile faded into an expression of concern. "Are you sure about this?" She whispered.

Schuyler pulled away gently and smiled, Bliss thought then that she looked the epitome of an angel. "I'v never been more sure of anything before in my life. I won't let the committee threaten me into a life alone, I've already lost one love that way..." She paused and turned to the mirror once more, smoothing out he gown and tucking away loose strands of hair. "I won't lose Ollie that way."

"Okay then, let's get you married." Bliss laughed as she and Schuyler bustled out of the room and to the church.

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The church was small compared to many that decorated the streets of New York. They'd chosen it because they hadn't expected many people to attend, and they'd been right. Less than half the people whom they had invited had actually attended.

The doors opened wide and and there Schuyler stood in all her glory. An angel, the light at the end of Oliver's tunnel.

Schuyler looked at the sparse crowd as she walked up the isle, appreciative of those who had come she couldn't help but feel the drop of her heart at those who weren't there.

Cordelia and Lawrence who should have been sitting on her side of the pews, the brides side. And as she walked up the isle, solitary and no one to help her make the journey- no one to give her away- she thought of her parents. her mother who lay lifeless in a hospital bed and the father she'd never had a chance to know. She looked at Oliver then, who stood only with his father behind him. And Bliss who waited up there with them. Dylan should have been there, to be Oliver's best man, to be there with Bliss.

And Jack... though he was the only one among the missing faces that was not dead, he still wasn't there. A part of her expected it, but that small room the back of her mind gave a quiet shudder of sadness.

She reached the altar, handed her bouquet to Bliss and turned to oliver. And through al the depression her wandering mind had cause, the moment she looked into Oliver's eyes she felt safe. She knew that with him everything would be alright. Out of everyone she had lost, he was still here. She smiled up at him and the grin that lit up his face as he admired her. She took his hands in his as the priest began to speak and the piano slowed to silence.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today-"

And though she heard the faintest click echo off the walls of the church, no amount of vampiric blood that ran discreetly through her veins could have stopped what happened next.

A shot rang out through the church, and on reflex everyone ducked. But Schuyler didn't, she was too shocked as she felt Oliver, more than she saw him, grab her in his arms and pull her down to the ground. But gun or no gun she couldn't have been hurt. In that moment she realized how much Oliver was leaning over her, he hadn't pushed her down... he'd fallen.

Schuyler could smell it now, the way it perfumed the air with sickness. She gently pushed Oliver back to look at him, "Ollie..." Her voice quavered when she saw her immaculate dress drenched in his blood and the way he seemed so limp. She didn't realize the sobs and the screams that filled the church were her own. She turned him over and cradled his body in her lap.

"Ollie..." She whimpered into his jacket. "Oh Oliver... please don't go..." She sobbed desperately and held him in her arms long after his body went cold. She sat there for ages it seemed, as the paramedics pried him from her grasp and tried to revive him in vain though she'd heard his heart stop long before. She watched as they carted his body away, as Bliss pulled her into her arms and let her cry. She sat there, fat tears rolling down her face, as Charles Force draped his coat over her shoulders and patted her on the shoulder before leaving.

He'd cared about Schuyler even if it hadn't seemed like it, she was the daughter of his other half. And in spite of himself he'd never been able to truly hate Allegra or any part of her. Not even Schuyler. But another part of him cared about Jack. He'd been the only one to see Jack standing on the balcony inside the church when the shot rang out, and the only one who saw Jack disappear in the blink of an eye. No one but Charles...

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In all the years of her life that she'd played and danced in the snow, its cold had never pervaded her like this before. Soaking into her limbs, in an attempt to freeze her so she wouldn't have to feel. Becoming every part of her, she welcomed it. The windows were open wide, the white curtains billowing into the lightless room. The snowflakes swirling in tiny tornados across the floor.

She hadn't known where to go after.... after what had happened. Bliss brought her home, her real home. The one she'd shared with Cordelia and for a short time Lawrence. Bliss had been able to get Schuyler out of he bloody dress, but after that Schuyler snapped. She'd screamed at Bliss to leave, it wasn't until Bliss had left that Schuyler collapsed to the floor. Half naked and crying. The tears flowed from her, like her her heart had broken and the ocean of things inside it had begun to pour out of her. And just when she thought she couldn't cry anymore, the waves rolled out again.

She didn't know how long it was before she'd picked herself up again, let alone how long ago she'd finally run out of tears to shed. She threw on a pair of sweat pants and as she was about to put on one of her own t-shirts she saw Oliver's ratty old sweatshirt crumpled in a corner. The one he liked to sleep in when he stayed over. She'd picked it up reverently, holding it up to her face and breathing in the faded smell of his cologne. She threw it on, and without really knowing what she was doing she'd opened all the windows in the drawing room and pulled their favorite love seat into the middle of the room.

Schuyler sat there still. Watching the snowflakes dance in and out, melting on the floor. She didn't know how long she'd been there, she wasn't keeping count. But the snow had begun to make piles all around her and she felt numb on the outside.

She was thinking of Oliver.

The way he used to smile. How every time she was down, he'd been the one to make her smile. He'd been her coping mechanism. She hadn't thought about what would happen after, if he'd ever died. If she closed her eyes she could still feel his warm breath on her face, his caramel-colored hair flecked with light, the spark in his eyes-

"What are you doing?" She opened her eyes slowly, but didn't turn to look. She knew the voice, she'd memorized it when she was much younger... and in love. His voice was exasperated, angry even. A part of her was concerned as to why, but her subconscious already knew.

"I'm waiting..." She whispered, the hours of crying were evident as her voice broke in its delicate softness.

Jack began to run around the room, closing the windows in an attempt to keep the cold from taking anymore of her. He'd done this, but he hadn't expected this o be the consequence. He almost broke when he finally turned to look at her, really look at her.

Her hair was spilling around her shoulders, a messy ghost of the beautiful up-do she'd worn to her wedding. There were deep dark bruise-like circles under her eyes, eyes that were red and empty from crying too much. Her skin, he'd never seen it so pale before, even for a vampire. Her lips, the full red mouth he'd loved so much, had given way to the cold and were just as pale as the rest of her. Just as lifeless.

He fell to his knees in front of her, taking her frozen hands in his. Rubbing them in an attempt to warm them. She was so weak, he could tell. "When was the last time you fed?"

"I don't know..." Her eyes still gazed out the window, in a daze. He cupped his hands around her face, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were desperate, pleading.

"Schuyler?"

She looked at him, his once proud eyes begging her, and she gave in. Because in all honesty there was nothing she could deny the man before her. Though he resided in a room at the back of her mind, her love for him was still there- just as real as ever. "A few days before- before the wedding..."

Jack was crumbling in the face of his own decisions, succumbing to a terrible fate. "That's at least a week." He said incredulously. "Schuyler you need to feed." He made to pick her up in his arms, but she held out her hands defensively. The attempt was so pathetic, as if she could defend herself from a mouse in that condition.

"I can't." Was all she said, before huddling further into the love seat.

Jack's anger sparked, she was killing herself over a Red Blood, over Oliver. "Are you crazy?!" He yelled, unable to control himself. "You put everything on the line just being with him. The committee would have burned your blood afterward, never mind what would have happened to your precious Oliver! You would have ceased to exist if it weren't for me! Your throwing your life away over a dead man who could have never loved you the way I love you! Are you really willing to trap yourself in this body! Become your mother, just to be noble!" His throat was hoarse from the yelling, his breathing was rapid as he waited for her answer.

Silence filled the room, but the look on her face was loud and accusatory. Her dazed features broke into one of horrified realization.

"It was you." She said, quiet as a mouse, her movement weak and fragile as she turned on him. "You killed Oliver."

He didn't hesitate. He knew he'd tell her the truth if she asked, from the moment he walked in. "Yes."

He watched as she blinked rapidly, a failed attempt to see him more clearly, and fat tear rolled down one cheek. Schuyler closed her eyes, bracing herself against the onslaught of emotions. Beating her up inside. "Why?" She whispered.

"I wanted to save you from yourself." She knew what he meant and she let it sink in before letting out a harsh laugh.

"You got what you wanted, Jack. Or should I say Abbadon, Angel of Destruction." She glared at him as he made no apologies. "I'm all alone now Jack. And I'll live forever. Alone, everyones dead and now I've only got you. Your prize is my corpse." She weakly tried to stand up, but nearly fell before Jack caught her.

"You need blood." He said, his arms wrapped around her.

She pushed and squirmed away from his touch, like it burned her. When he set her back down on the floor she began opening the windows again. "I won't let you kill yourself." He said, keeping his tone neutral.

She laughed again, a hoarse and empty sound, and snapped at him, her voice dripping with venom. "Haven't you heard? I can't die..." She pushed open the last window with the last of her strength before slumping against the wall, sliding to the floor. He watched her and couldn't believe what he'd done to her.

"I think I was destined for this, you know?" She wasn't looking at him, her blank stare was making a victim of the love seat she'd been sitting in.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he slipped off his coat and draped it over her knees. She didn't fight him, and he went to sit on the floor a foot or two away.

"To be unhappy. I loved you first, you know. Even if we had gone through with it... one of us would have been left all alone. You had to be with Mimi to survive. Everyone on our side of life had a twin, another half to their whole. I was the X-Factor, unexpected... and all alone. But with Oliver..." She paused to look at him. "I really did love him."

"I know."

That stuck a cord, he saw it in her eyes. I flicker, a memory. But she made no attempt to amend his curiosity.

"We couldn't be together because of all the damned rules, and I'd robbed him a long time ago of ever having a chance to fall in love with someone else. Someone human. And before they could burn my blood and take me away from him.... you took him away from me." She was silent again for awhile, he wasn't sure why but he was patient with her, though he could her hear heart. Could hear the the beat slowing, ticking away at her life. He would wait, listen to her story so that in the next cycle he would learned from his mistakes. "No matter how I play my cards, Jack... I'll always be alone. And God help anyone who tries to stand in the way of that fate.... The worst part is that I still love cruel part is that his blood will always be on my hands, even though I loved him. Even though you shot the gun, I killed him first."

"I'm sorry." Was all he said. He didn't argue with her even though he disagreed. He knew she didn't want to hear it, she just wanted him to listen.

She bit her lip before she spoke again. "I can't kill you. I can't kill me. But I can honor his memory. I can punish myself." She took a deep breath. "I can punish you."

He didn't ask how, he knew how. "Please don't do this." She didn't budge, so he tried again. "You were meant for more than this, Schuyler. Together with Mimi, I'm destruction." The burden in the truth of his statement was crushing, and he couldn't bear to look at her as he continued. "With you.... your my second chance. I've hurt you enough in this lifetime, I won't stop you. I just want one thing from you, even though I have no right."

He looked up for her reassurance, she nodded thoughtfully. "Let them save your blood. Don't end your second chance over something I did. I won't let them use my blood if, when I wake up, you wont be there. And if you never wake up again I won't either."

She looked into his eyes with pity, and couldn't help the swelling of her heart at his words. If it were another lifetime... she could forgive him for this. She knew in another lifetime, nothing would keep them apart. "Yes."

He hesitated before crawling across the space between them, taking her into his arms. She didn't fight him, not because she was too weak, but because she didn't want to. He cradled her small frame in his lap and waited with her. It was hours before she fell into the coma. Sometimes she'd sob, or clutch at his shirt collar when she felt the pang of thirst. The worst was when she moaned out of pain, when he knew it was hurting her but he couldn't stop it. She wouldn't forgive him if he did.

"Schuyler?" He whispered a few hours into the night.

"Hmm?" He barely heard her, but it was enough.

"No matter who or what I become, I'll always love you and everything you are. In the next life, do you think you could love me again? Forgive me for what I've done? " He was standing on a precipice, her answer could either push him or save him. He needed her. He knew that as well as she did.

"Yes..." After she fell into the coma, he stood up and pulled her into his arms. His eyes never left her face as they walked down the lamp lit streets of New York, the snow swirling around them and getting caught in her hair. He didn't use his vampire speed, he just walked knowing her fate for this cycle had been sealed. How he wished he could follow her into her own mind, be able to live with her everyday there in his arms. It wasn't long before they reached the hospital.

Jack walked among the crowded halls, unaware of all the curious faces for the girl in his arms. But he let his feet carry him to the room, there was an empty bed there. Laying her down in it he pulled the covers up in a final attempt to make her comfortable. If this was her fate, he knew she'd want to be here, beside her mother. He wouldn't deny her that.

He informed the doctors of her decision and the circumstances, and left his information at the desk. All bills were to be paid by him, it didn't matter if she was practically dead. He would take care of her. This was his compromise. Condceding that they really couldnt have worked in the lifetime.

Jack leaned over her unconscious form. His hand reached up the push back the dark waves of her hair, letting it fall and curl around her shoulders. His eyes roamed over her face, memorizing the shape of her mouth the flawless pale skin and the dark lashed that brushed her cheeks like sleeping butterflies.

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers gently, breathing her in.

Turning away fast, like ripping off the band-aid, he wandered out into the night. A vampire walking under the stars, knowing his fate for this life would be a cold one. He still looked forward to the promise the next life held, no matter how long it took to get there. No matter how long it would be before he would see her sapphire eyes alive with life again, he would wait.

This... living with her corpse was his concession, if not his compromise.

A/N: Okay this is my first fic for this couple. I write tragic stories and I had a dream about this one and thought it might make a good au. I'm not the greatest writer in the world, I'm still working my way up to decent so please be gentle. :)


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